This week we're joined by Ethan Einhorn, the former creative director from Sega of America who is now at VR studio Midas Touch Games. Ethan tells us about his time with Steve Jobs back when the App Store first launched, and how Jobs accurately predicted the huge success of Super Monkey Ball.

The bulk of our conversation this week is all about Nintendo stuff though. With Fire Emblem Heroes out now for both iOS and Android, we talk about whether the move from 3DS to smartphone has been successful, and learn how it stacks up for a series veteran like Einhorn. He's played literally hundreds of hours of previous Fire Emblem games – and even describes Fire Emblem Fates as his favorite game of all time.

We also tackle the Nintendo Switch again – this time based on some real hands-on time with the system.

In Keith Stuart's story about the importance of Mass Effect: Andromeda for us this week, he posits that "we’re seeing an exodus in the 'triple A' blockbuster sector, away from scripted experiences toward sprawling open-world adventures, where the plot is secondary to world-exploration, sub-quests, item collection and player-generated narratives." We explore this in light of the games we've played so far this year, and question whether more and more games will follow the likes of Ubisoft's For Honor where the relationships formed with other players are ultimately more important than those provided by a story. We also tackle Resident Evil 7's scary moments, Hitman's enduring appeal, and our excitement for Guerrilla Games' upcoming Horizon Zero Dawn.

Will Rachel be as grumpy about the Switch as she was last week? Has John changed his mind about it again? What did Miguel think of Halo Wars 2 when he played it? If Simon hates horror games so much, how is Rachel going to get him to play Resident Evil 7 on a livestream next week? Is Ghost Recon Wildlands something really special? What's a "gacha" mechanic? All these questions answered and more.

Immediately after Nintendo announced the March 3 launch date, $299 price point and first batch of games for its new Switch console, we gathered to discuss whether we think it'll be a hit or a miss. Is The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild and quirky controller-waggling game 1, 2, Switch enough to make it a success on day one? Some strong opinions ensued.

This week we talk about our predictions for the year ahead and dig into why 2017 is such a pivotal year for so many aspects of video games. We'll see the death of the idea of conventional "console generations," we'll see new types of game emerge, and witness the effect that both esports and Overwatch will have on games across the board.

On the latest episode of our weekly podcast a slightly hungover team talks their games of 2016 and where they ranked on our 50 Best Games of 2016 mega feature. They also polish their crystal balls to provide their predictions for 2017. Will the new Switch console be the hardware hit Nintendo needs? Will we see a teaser for Skyrim 2 at E3? What can Blizzard do next with Overwatch?

We discuss how awesome Super Mario Run turned out, John talks about what it was like chatting with Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto, and Rachel reveals her secret to getting Hideo Kojima to open up to her about the soundtrack for Death Stranding.

John Davison, Simon Cox and Miguel Lopez (Rachel is on vacation this week) talk about what may end up being the biggest game of the year (Super Mario Run) and the team helps John think of questions for his upcoming conversation with Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto. Then the conversation slips into appreciation of The Last Guardian and the delights of cat-bird wrangling.

Were this year's Game Awards a success? Is there really only so much that an awards show can do for a form of entertainment that insists on presenting itself as an "industry" rather than something more artistic? And what was up with the weird robot razor blade? John Davison, Rachel Weber and Simon Cox argue about whether any problems you might have with The Game Awards might actually be the fault of something larger.

Why are the biggest releases of the year selling so badly? Are people just tired of sequels? Is it because everyone is still playing last year's stuff? Is it all Overwatch's fault? John Davison, Miguel Lopez, Rachel Weber and Simon Cox argue about what might be to blame.